ohnoes!!

 

Top Stories - AP
AP
Strong Indonesia Quake Forces Evacuations

18 minutes ago

Add to My Yahoo! Top Stories - AP

By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - A major earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island late Monday, and officials issued a tsunami warning for as far away as Sri Lanka. Residents of Banda Aceh fled their homes in panic.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor, which occurred at 11:09 p.m. local time (11:09 a.m. EST), measured a magnitude of 8.2. It was described by one of the agency's geologists as an aftershock of the devastating Dec. 26 quake.

In Banda Aceh, the Sumatran city that was hit hardest by December's tsunami, the quake cut electricity and thousands poured into the streets, most getting into vehicles to flee low-lying areas.

Tsunami warnings were issued in Thailand, Japan and Sri Lanka. Authorities said it could take several hours to know whether the quake had generated a devastating tsunami.

Sirens blared along Sri Lanka's devastated east coast as the government warned seaside residents to evacuate immediately.

"The government has ordered coastal areas to move to higher ground. We are giving priorities to eastern coast," said Brig. Daya Ratnayake, the military spokesman.

Low-lying coastal areas in Malaysia's northern states also were being evacuated.

In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said U.S. diplomatic missions in Asia and Africa are in "battle mode" so that they can respond quickly to any contingency.

He said embassy officials in the area have been asking host governments to inquire about any causalities to permit an early U.S. response if the situation calls for it.

The International Red Cross in Geneva said all their mobile phone systems were down so they haven't been able to talk to anyone on the ground in Indonesia.

At the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which was at the center of U.N. response to the Dec. 26 tsunami, Jamie McGoldrick said, "What's going on is a mobilization of people away from the coast."

But noted that the quake was "a weaker one than before (Dec. 26)."

Oceanographer David Burwell of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the agency was watching water levels "but we don't have any gauges in that area." He said it would be a few hours before officials received any readings.

The quake lasted for about two minutes

 

I read about this in yahoo. It's around an 8.9 earthquake... better brace yourself